FT MEADE 

GenColl 
































Visions of the Trenches 


BY 


Z. M. CURRY 

i« 



SAULSBURY PUBLISHING COMPANY 

BALTIMORE, MD. 



J* F. TAPLEY CO. 
NEW YORK 



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©CI.A530 696 1 . , V ■: 

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VISIONS OF THE TRENCHES 


On the tiny platform of Glenville she paused and 
looked around for some kind of conveyance to take 
her to her destination; the train pulled out leaving 
her alone — a tall, slender girl dressed in a well- 
worn black serge. Spring had given place to sum- 
mer ; it was very warm and the sun shimmered on the 
white strip of road skirting the river. The last few 
weeks, that had seemed so simple, had now assumed 
gigantic proportions but she could not lose courage 
now that her last chance trembled in the balance. 
She was alone, her father having died some months 
before, leaving her very little money after the debts 
were paid and now there was nothing left her but 
to make her own way or be dependent on distant 
relatives, so she took the former course and was on 
her way to Lady Meredith’s to be governess to her 
two small children. They were English, but lived 
in an old chateau near Ostend in France; they lived 
about a mile from the small village where she left 
the train. How different this was from the life she 
had imagined! Turning to the agent she asked for 
some kind of a conveyance. 

3 


4 


VISIONS OF THE TRENCHES 


‘‘There is nothing. Miss; you have to be content 
with what you get in war times,” he said. 

So she picked up her small bag, hesitated a mo- 
ment and turned away, passed on through the small 
village and out on the long, winding road that led 
to Lady Meredith’s. The long, dusty road stretched 
almost straight ahead of her; before she had gone 
half the distance she had pushed back her black veil 
and shook her shoulders free of dust. 

The sun was inclined towards a gap in the hills ; 
in the distance the level rays almost dazzled her 
and the glint flashed across the wing of a bird and 
then a streak of gray shot across the road in front 
of her ; a chipmunk had darted to a shelter by the 
roadside. She strode on at a pace that drove the 
hot blood through her veins ; her feet made no sound 
on the turf-covered road, but even in her excitement 
she found time to wonder how she would be received. 
A weight of sadness seemed dragging at her heart- 
strings — was it the curious defiance of fate that was 
leading her on.^ She had stopped to rest under the 
shade of a large tree by the roadside ; so deathly still 
it was, she seemed alone in the world ; it had been a 
stifling day and even now, though a soft wind blew 
tempering the humid heat, the air was stifling; there 
was a brooding stillness that foreboded a storm, and 
for some minutes Silvia Grove sat staring around at 
the solitary countryside; then she arose and moved 
on. She was very tired, her feet carried her along 
like an automaton; a sharp clap of thunder and a 


VISIONS OF THE TRENCHES 


5 


few big drops of rain caused her to quicken her steps 
and look around for some kind of a shelter; surely 
she was near her destination. It was almost night, 
there was no human being in sight, the fury of the 
wind and rain was increasing; the last rays of the 
setting sun had been covered by black clouds. She 
ran on ; a clearing was in view and glancing hastily 
around she saw at a little distance, against the 
tangled undergrowth what looked to be a small hunt- 
ing lodge now falling into decay. 

A sharp clap of thunder and a heavy shower of 
rain caused her to run for shelter ; there was no 
window and only a low door and she had to stoop 
to enter ; she hesitated at the gloomy interior but now 
the rain was coming down in torrents so she en- 
tered and looked around for some kind of a shutter 
for the door. Finding one broken from the hinges 
she pulled it across the opening to keep out as much 
rain as possible and as she straightened up she heard 
a curious sound behind her : a low panting breath and 
something stirred in the corner back of her; she 
turned sharply and raised her eyes; could it be a 
man’s face, haggard, scratched and bleeding, peering 
at her out of the darkness.^ Her heart gave a jerk 
and stood still; it seemed to Silvia that she was in a 
nightmare; she looked up and down the road but 
there was no one in sight; she glanced back; yes, it 
was a man’s face ; he crouched in the corner like some 
hunted animal. Instinctively she drew back and 
started for the door, but something she could not 


6 


VISIONS OF THE TRENCHES 


define prompted her to remain; some frantic terror 
in the gleaming eyes appealed to her and her own 
personal fear vanished when a weak voice said : 

^‘For the love of God don’t leave me, I am a pris- 
oner of war ; I escaped and have lain here for days ; 
I am wounded and can’t get away and am almost 
starving.” 

The chill at Silvia’s heart gave way at the human 
voice and she remembered some sandwiches that were 
left from her lunch; she gave them to him with a 
cup of rain water, which he devoured ravenously. 
The rain had nearly ceased, she had promised help 
for him, when a rhythmic tramp of many feet arose 
in the distance and set every nerve in her body 
trembling in fear and excitement. Silvia turned her 
head and listened and then ran to the partly open 
door and as she did she heard again that agonizing 
voice which arose wildly, ‘‘Don’t tell them I am 
here.” 

She stood for a moment too shocked to move and 
then all that was noble in her nature responded to 
that cry; she seized the broken shutter and pulled 
it across the door and stood against it looking out 
with a terrified expression. She glanced across the 
valley from which the sound of feet came and what 
she saw made her pale and catch at her throat ; there 
was a line of troops coming directly towards the 
hut. 

She turned to him and gasped out, “They are not 


VISIONS OF THE TRENCHES 


7 


English nor French, they are Germans.” In her 
excitement she had not noticed that the wounded 
man had dragged himself to the small opening in 
the back of the hut and when Silvia glanced back 
he was slowly crawling through ; she smothered a 
desire to scream aloud for with an added rush of 
terror she knew they were hunting the wounded man 
that was hid in the hut ; so she stood with her slight, 
boyish figure drawn up looking fearlessly at them; 
the foremost one, a great blond giant with a week’s 
growth of beard on his face, came close and said 
in very good English: 

‘‘Step aside. Miss, we want to search the hut, we 
are looking for a prisoner that has escaped.” 

Silvia straightened suddenly and laughed ; her 
laugh was full of derision. “There is no one here, 
I took shelter here out of the rain ; the hut is empty,” 
she said. 

The German took a step forward, “Move aside; 
I am going to find out,” he said, his brutal face 
thrust forward, ghostly under the growth of beard; 
he stood staring at her for an awful moment. “That 
means,” said the German, “that I shall have to move 
you,” starting as though to move her aside. “Don’t 
you dare touch me,” cried Silvia, stamping her foot. 
“I am an American.” 

He threw back his head and laughed, took another 
step towards her and in a bewildered flash she saw 
the big figure in the battered gray uniform and then 


8 


VISIONS OF THE TRENCHES 


darkness; some moments later in a vague way she 
heard voices and a man’s voice saying, ^^Oh, yes, I 
think she will be all right now.” 

She opened her eyes and they fell on a face she 
did not know, a grave young face that regarded her 
seriously and then smiled ; a voice outside said, ‘‘The 
car is ready. Sir.” 

“Well, young lady, if you will tell me where you 
want to go I will take you there.” 

“Oh, I am on my way to Lady Meredith’s,” said 
Silvia. 

“How fortunate ! I am going there to; I am Lieu- 
tenant Lanier of the Hussars and Lady Meredith 
is my aunt.” 

“I am Silvia Grove, the governess,” she said. ^ 

“Yes, the man that was sent to meet you, missed 
you,” said the Lieutenant. 

She arose, shuddering violently as she remem- 
bered the threatening figure of the German; she 
looked around; the hut was empty; she was getting 
a grip on her nerves as she talked and a few mo-N 
ments later they were home and relating their ex- 
perience. 

Three months later Silvia Grove and Billy Lanier 
had become very good friends. It was cold; snow 
covered the ground, every one’s nerves were strained 
to the breaking point and the servants went about 
with ghastly faces and eyes that were shadowed and 
sunken; there were doctors and nurses that had 
opened up a casualty clearing station in an old de- 


VISIONS OF THE TRENCHES 


9 


serted barn not five miles from the chateau and just 
back of the firing line. There had been a big drive ; 
everything was in confusion; every inch of floor 
space had been taken; this was the extraordinary 
news that had come to them a few days ago, and now 
the summons had come for Lieut. Lanier to join 
his regiment. 

Each dark and miserable day with lowering clouds 
brought only an added sadness to the hearts of all; 
.by some trick of fate Billy met Silvia as she started 
for a walk the afternoon before his departure; she 
was going to the small village for mail ; the hearts of 
all had brightened just after the great battle they 
called the Siege of Verdun but now the heroes of 
Verdun were hard pressed; how hard no one knew 
outside the war office and cabinet ; the Crown Prince 
had recoiled in sullen defeat from the prey that 
need fear him no more. 

Lanier’s regiment was somewhere near Ballienal; 
he must join them, there was hot work expected and 
there was a scandalous shortage of munitions and 
if there was to be a push the horrors would be ap- 
palling. As he stood waiting for Silvia to get her 
mail images passed through his mind; the sight of 
the trenches, the shattered and dying bodies. He 
had even forgotten Silvia until she came out and 
stood beside him. 

She was dressed after the fashion of a woman that 
knows how to dress sensibly — in a short walking 
skirt, fur trimmed jacket, high stout boots and fur 


10 


VISIONS OF THE TRENCHES 


cap — a lock of warm brown hair had escaped from 
under her cap in the wind and Billy, looking at her, 
realized that a woman held his happiness in the hol- 
low of her hand; he longed to take her in his arms 
and tell her of his love, but not yet ; they had walked 
a short distance when Silvia stopped, looking round 
at the snow covered hedges ; some of the trees had 
kept their dark yellow leaves that gleamed golden 
through the red rays of the setting sun that touched 
the battlements of the chateau in its soft lights. 

As the setting sun sank out of sight they were just 
ascending the broad stone steps when they heard 
an unusual noise, a faint purr and humming. They 
turned and listened. 

^‘What is Silvia asked. 

Their eyes were riveted skyward and they saw high 
above them, blacker than the shadows of gathering 
night, something stupendous, huge, that seemed sud- 
denly to assume shape and a roar of machinery be- 
came plainly audible and then the boom of a great 
gun far to the north. They could now discern the 
huge craft as it gradually grew larger ; they mounted 
the wide terrace and turned to watch the airman, not 
knowing whether he was friend or enemy; he tore 
along through the clouds ; the last sheen of the set- 
ting sun glinting the plane as he started landward 
and the bellow of the big gun rang out nearer now, 
but they did not hit the airman; the great machine 
leaped upward, sidestepped, recovered, and kept on ; 
he had crossed the enemies’ trenches ; they had fired 


VISIONS OF THE TRENCHES 


11 


on him and missed; he was flying faster now and 
coming straight for the chMeau; they saw him lean 
out and drop something; Silvia shuddered and drew 
closer to her companion; he caught her arm and 
pulled her behind one of the stone columns. 

“Don’t be afraid, it is an air raid,” he said. 

They stood for some minutes watching the airman 
approach when Silvia cried, “Look; it is a German, 
you can see the iron crosses on the great outspread 
wings.” 

He was over them ; now they dared not move from 
hiding. Away to the north was a murky cloud on 
the horizon and there was the echoing boom of heavy 
artillery; at that moment there was a deafening ex- 
plosion, a rain of stone and plaster; a stream of 
lurid fire seemed to leap from the house; the tower 
split and fell outward and for a moment or two the 
air was filled with piteous shrieks and a long death 
cry of those within; one of the great stone columns 
fell crashing into the marble railing close to where 
Silvia and Billy stood; a bomb had been dropped at 
random and the inmates instantly killed; the main 
body of the chMeau was gone. 

“Well,” Billy muttered, “this is another gigantic 
effect of German brutality.” 

The huge plane circled round for a few minutes 
and then went on its way hunting for other victims ; 
the light had died out and the darkness of night 
seemed impenetrable. Billy drew Silvia’s arm close 
in his. 


12 


VISIONS OF THE TRENCHES 


“Come, we can do nothing here; pray that we 
reach the woods unseen,” he whispered, and holding 
her arm tightly they made their way across the 
terrace and on through the trees in the darkness ; 
they groped their way slowly, now and then becom- 
ing tangled in the undergrowth. Silvia’s teeth were 
chattering with cold and fright ; they had wandered 
for hours when he asked, “Can you go farther.^” 

“Yes; as far as you go,” she replied bravely; he 
looked down at her with ardent sympathy; they 
walked along almost silently ; sometimes they stopped 
to rest for a few moments, they knew not how far 
they had gone when they came to an opening which 
proved to be a road, broad and white in the gloom, 
so they followed it and just at dawn they came to 
a small shell-wrecked village; they approached very 
cautiously, as they knew the Germans were near and 
much depended on quietness ; they could now plainly 
see the streets paved with cobblestones and the sides 
lined with gaunt, shell-wrecked houses. 

They reached one of the outskirts and went in to 
rest, and tried to find food ; they would have to wait 
for darkness before they could go on again; there 
was no sign of life anywhere; they were beginning 
to realize the actual war conditions; they were well 
within gun range of the enemy and only a few kilo- 
meters from the trenches, so they waited for dark- 
ness before going on again; they sat close together, 
not knowing what to expect next; for a few mo- 
ments silence enveloped them completely but for the 


VISIONS OF THE TRENCHES 


13 


rushing of the wind, and then out of the gloom arose 
the rhythmic tramp of hob-nailed boots in the dis- 
tance. 

They looked cautiously out and saw a long line 
of German soldiers, as they turned and swung down 
the ink black road; after a moment or two of sus- 
pense their straining eyes saw them as shadowy ob- 
jects in the distance. They would never forget the 
almost interminable time that they spent plastered 
against that broken wall and even as they watched 
there was a shout of command and many shots rang 
out and some stray bullets bit into the broken wall 
that sheltered them. The sky was overcast; a cold 
damp wind blew from the north ; there was a feel of 
rain in the air and an ugly grayness everywhere. 
Presently footsteps approached and an unseen pedes- 
trian passed within ten yards of them; they hardly 
breathed until the sound passed; a hoarse cry of 
alarm rang out and another rifle bullet bit into the 
wall behind which they were sheltered. Unarmed and 
at the mercy of the enemy, they could only wait ; 
once Silvia stirred and Billy caught her arm to im- 
pose silence, ‘‘Tired, little girl.^” he asked. 

“Yes; and so hungry,” she answered. She leaned 
heavily against him and he experienced a peculiar 
and almost electric thrill as his hand came in con- 
tact with hers; her breathing was like sobs, short 
and choking, but he knew she was not crying; it was 
only excitement and alarm, not hysteria. At last 
she uttered a low cry, pointing to a Zeppelin almost 


14 


VISIONS OF THE TRENCHES 


above them; there was no roof on the house; it had 
been torn away with a shell. 

He was glad of the gray day that made it almost 
night where they were hid. They waited darkness 
so they could go on their way and get to some place 
where they could get transportation to England; 
time crept on; the firing had almost ceased on both 
sides. 

Silvia sat silent and rigid, looking straight before 
her; Billy waited for her to speak, devouring with 
hungry eyes the face so close to his own; conversa- 
tion had become difficult between them and there 
were long silences fraught with sweet peril. She 
turned and laid her hand on his arm. 

‘T don’t know what I would do without you,” 
she said; her hair was brushing his ear and neck; 
her heart was beating against his side and (but why 
be a pessimist) he stopped abruptly, his eyes went 
round as those of a man who sees before him enor- 
mity he has just escaped; it was pitchy dark inside 
so they crept forth. 

^^Now for it,” he whispered, “not a second to lose.” 
Their worse danger lay in running into some of the 
guards ; he picked her up and bolted across the nar- 
row street and into the shrubbery ; she did not utter 
a sound; her arms tightened; her cheek was against 
his; presently he put her down, her strength was 
almost gone ; they had eaten nothing all day. 

“Can you walk?” he asked. 


VISIONS OF THE TRENCHES 


15 


she replied. 

“Then give me your hand and follow close ; better 
that I should bump into things than you,” said Billy ; 
on they stumbled, blindly, recklessly; he spared her 
many an injury by taking it himself ; more than once 
she gave a little cry as they bumped into a tree or 
fallen log. 

Her sympathy was to him what drum and fife are 
to the faltering soldier in his march to death, and 
yet not without something feverish, something ab- 
normal because of that shrouded day. They would 
never forget it; it entered into each clinging grasp 
he gave her hand as he helped her up or down some 
steep or rugged path and into the lingering look of 
her brown eyes as she mutely thanked him. Utterly 
at sea he was now guessing at the course they were 
taking; they came to a rough road across a stretch 
of barren land and at last she cried out: 

“Oh! I can go no farther, can’t we — is it safe to 
stop for a few moments 

“Bless you, yes,” said Billy and came to a stop; 
she leaned heavily against him gasping for breath. 
“I haven’t the faintest idea where we are, but we 
must be somewhere near a village or a farmhouse; 
we will rest and take it more easily,” said Billy. An 
hour later, but it seemed to both much longer because 
they realized the peril that lay so close to them on 
every side. Their only chance lay in getting to a 
base hospital ; they were now past the barren stretch 


16 


VISIONS OF THE TRENCHES 


and to his dismay they came to some small hills and 
large rocks; this was a new territory to him, his 
heart sank. 

‘T wonder where we are?” she said. Silvia was 
shaking but too dazed to care much. 

^‘I give it up,” he said dismally, “we will just have 
to go on until we find some one,” he knew she did not 
realize the gravity of the situation, but he did not 
want her to know that they were lost. “I think,” 
he said cheerfully, “that the only sensible thing to 
do is to find some shelter and wait until daylight.” 
And so they groped their way to the shelter of the 
rocks; it was not much of a place but just a shelter 
for the moment. A few minutes later she laid her 
head against his shoulder and sighed deeply ; she was 
asleep. Some hours later the dawn showed them both 
asleep, but the first rays of the rising sun awoke 
Billy and revealed the face of the slight figure by his 
side and her stricken, pallid loveliness set his blood 
to tingling; she looked so desolate and never more 
desirable, but his tone was singularly passionless as 
he spoke : 

“Don’t move, go to sleep again.” 

“Sleep ! I haven’t been asleep, I have been think- 
ing how I could repay you for all your trouble,” 
she said. 

“I am paid in full,” he said gravely, and the 
man’s spirit, fierce beneath his armor of self-con- 
trol arose, he looked around for a way out; he real- 
ized the danger that surrounded them. They were 


VISIONS OF THE TRENCHES 


17 


almost under the eyes of the Teutonic forces and 
they knew not whether the Allies still held the in- 
vaded territory. Silver cloud wreaths began to 
thread and loop through the mountain peaks in the 
distance showing the first signs of daylight. 

^^You poor girl, sit still and I will reconnoiter a 
bit and see if I can find a road,” said Billy. 

^^No ; I shall not let you leave me for a second, 
where you go, I go,” she said; she struggled to her 
feet, repressing a groan, and thrusting her arm 
through his and walking a short distance they came 
out through a little wood and across a track of bar- 
ren land. They knew that they were near the firing 
line; they came to a ridge of small hills* where little 
groups of men were at work unlimbering guns in 
front of which British soldiers walked with drawn 
bayonets to challenge all who passed. A little dis- 
tance oflf were a body of troops on their way to the 
trenches to relieve their comrades, and as the sun 
came up, the trenches themselves came into view; 
long, zigzag lines, silent now and with no sign of life 
only the men inside that crawled about like ants ; 
one might forget the war in this bright sun if it 
were not for the rumble of the big guns in the dis- 
tance that hardly ever ceased. 

They moved on trying to find some farmhouse; 
they had gone about a mile when they heard a queer 
screeching sound and a shell like a puff of smoke 
passed over and fell in the valley below ; now and then 
through the stillness came the sharp crack of the 


18 


VISIONS OF THE TRENCHES 


guns of snipers hidden in the little stretch of wood- 
land to the east of the trenches. As yet the fight- 
ing seemed scarcely to have commenced but the air 
was soon full of echoes and now from behind the 
hills a great white winged aeroplane glided into view 
on its way to make a reconnoissance and then a shell- 
scarred ambulance came rocking down the road with 
a big red cross floating on its side. 

An hour later they were sitting by an open fire 
in an old French farmhouse that had not been de- 
stroyed ; they had been fed and were to stay the night 
and sleep in a real bed. Silvia would start at the 
sound of every gun. 

The old farmer said: ^^They are about five miles 
away.” 

Silvia closed her eyes and listened drowsily to the 
latest war talk; there would be a new push soon; a 
new and steady push just as soon as the shell sup- 
ply was better ; she lay with her eyes closed, her face 
looked white and pinched in the flickering light ; she 
had fallen asleep in the midst of their talk and her 
last waking thought was of the great nation that 
was rising and its grim task was becoming visible 
at last, the only thing to win was guns, men, nothing 
else would do. 

Two months later Silvia was in London in a cheap 
lodging house. It was the summer of 1916, a dark 
and lowering day, but the English hearts were 
lighter; they had just won the great battle called 
the ‘^Siege of Verdun.” By the end of July the sun 


VISIONS OF THE TRENCHES 


19 


was ablaze again over the fields of grain and Silvia 
watched the papers for some news of Lanier ; he was 
missing since the big battle; she wondered with a 
dull, curious humor how long it took a woman to 
forget or if she could forget one she loved madly; 
she had known, of course, that he might be killed 
and she lay awake at nights in her tiny room and 
heard again the crashing horror of the bombs and 
the rattle of the smaller guns and always mingled 
with these night horrors that slender khaki clad fig- 
ure and the world misery of war, and in her waking 
dreams arose the visions of the trenches and those 
hideous broken woods of the ‘‘Somme” front where 
the blasted soil had sucked the best life blood of 
England and France and as she looked from her tiny 
window she realized that there was work for America 
and America alone to save the Allies from defeat. 


THE END 


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